Boracay – PPMeow!

For years now, I’ve heard the rumours of how beautiful the beaches of The Philippines are. So Boracay Island was one of the MUST-SEE spots on my travel agenda while I was in South-East Asia last month.

Now, getting to these beautiful beaches takes a bit of effort which included a 35-min LRT ride to Kuala Lumpur Airport, a 4-hour flight to Kalibo, Philippines.

Then a 2-hour bus ride to the edge of the sea to board a questionable mini-ferry boat for a 15-min ride to Boracay Island.

Followed by a 30-min shuttle bus AND a 10-min walk with luggage to our resort bungalow ….

WE finally made it!!!

WHERE WE STAYED

Thus began our 5-night stay at The Boracay Beach Resort!!! 🙂

The white sand beaches of Boracay is split up into three boat stations: Stn 1 known to be the ‘party spot’, Stn 2 and Stn 3. Since accommodations can be pricy we chose to stay at a more modest resort for the first 5-nights.

The jungle-like garden walkway toward the bungalows of *The Boracay Island Beach Resort*

The beachfront location of Stn 1 & 2 is always busy and bustling with activity.

Our little bungalow was a welcomed and lovely quiet respite from the island’s bustling party scene, but close enough to its heart for two single gals on vacation who wanted the complete Boracay experience. 😉

Added bonus to staying at this resort: it’s fully WIFI accessible …. even on this little jungle porch! Which was perfect starting off our day with fresh fruit shakes & delicious breakfasts and for our evenings of impromptu name-that-tune challenges and Facebook updates to make family and friends back home jelly 😉

The only downside to staying in these bungalows was the window AC units were very loud. So night-time was kept cool and tropical with just the fan mode. Plus, earplugs make everything better.

Our quaint relaxing porch ….where we were served delicious breakfasts every morning and enjoyed cheapy beers every evening. Sigh… how I miss it so 😦

For our last two-nights we checked out of our sweet little bungalow and stayed at this upscale, splurge-o hotel: Henann Garden Resort

65125_13111209320017381432_800x600 — The fancy Henann Garden Resort —- Sadly, the pool was the most noteworthy thing about this hotel.

Sadly, the pool was the most noteworthy thing about this hotel…. which couldn’t be enjoyed as there weren’t any ‘children only areas’. Which meant children were everywhere running amuck, often without parental supervision! Sigh….

The other disappointments of Henann Garden Resort: it cost us nearly DOUBLE what our 5-night stay cost which got us a “deluxe room” ….. which had zero view, no balcony or access to any private outdoor space and no WiFi. In fact, the entire splashy resort only offered WiFi access in their lobby…which was always crowded for this reason.

“Deluxe” …pfft!!!!

Thank goodness the bulk of our stay was at The Boracay Beach Resort ... how I miss it so! *sniff sniff*

WHAT WE DID

Both of our hotels were located along the White Beach between Stn 1 and the island’s newest center, D’Mall. There are tons of shops and restaurants within this area…which we explored daily.

Boracay Island is a water sport enthusiasts mecca!

Sadly, as I’m a non-swimmer (for more facts you didn’t know about moi, click here), I spent my days being a beach-bum working on my tan (ha!), eating, drinking and exploring the beach.

Like the day where we noticed a grouping of rocks off in the distance towards the end of Stn 1.

According to the map this was known as Willy’s Rock. I thought maybe it had something to do with the classic 80s flick GOONIES one-eyed-Willy … but upon closer inspection turns out this point of interest is actual a Christian shrine – notice the statue.

Willy’s Rock …. at Stn1 of Boracay White Sand Beach. My gf/travel mate ventured onto the rock. 🙂

We actually walked to it from shore and you can swim to and around it, as the water was quite shallow around it.

**My Outfit**: Dress, *Tommy Hilfiger;* Sunnies, *NineWest;* Hat, picked up on my travels from a lil’ shop outside of KLCC

We also came across this giant Gorilla after lunch one day … kinda random, right?

Monkeying around on the white sand beach of Boracay

There was a lot of time spend lazing around on the beach and on the hammock of our bungalow’s veranda reading my book: Gone Girl. (Really, really enjoyed it. Sadly, it wasn’t one of the movie offerings on any of my flights back…le sigh.)Watching the sailboats at sunset never got old…

Toward the end of the week, I wandered over to the end of Stn 3 and noticed that the clear blue waters were keeping covered in thick green grossness. Apparently at this time of year this algae seems to take over the shores. It wasn’t THIS bad by where we staying, thankfully. And once you’ve managed to walked past all the greenness, the water was perfect!

And People-Watching was always entertaining…

We got pretty chatty with one of the below table of dancers/hireable companions… so much so, that by the end of the evening one asked to touch my boobs 😮

True Story!!!! LOL!!!

This table of ladies were a combination of dancers and um, hireable companions for the night or week.

Nightly entertainment along the beach included live cover bands and fire-dancers. Visit my Instagram for vid clips of these performances 🙂

Roof-top cover band performing along the white sand beach

Oh! And I even donned my first bikini ever beachside and poolside! Woot!

**My Outfit:** Jellyfish Aqua Bikini from the GabiFresh line by Swimsuitsforall.com

WHAT I BOUGHT

Now y’all know I’m a hardcore shopper. But this year I’m really focused on spending money on ‘experiences’ rather than things…. and I have to say that there wasn’t anything particularly fabulous that I needed to purchase from Boracay Island.

I did come across this young artist on the beach, who was making personalized jewellery out of surgical steel wire. Earrings, necklaces and rings.

As you can see, I got myself one …complete with butterfly motif and pink beads…which worked out to be a whopping $6 CAD 🙂

We also found a caricaturist along the beach – THIS was not at all the pose we picked to be drawn.

LOLOL!! I’m pretty sure they thought we were apart of a lesbian commune. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. 😉

Also, seems I’m white in caricature, while my gf is part of the big-titty-committee. LOLOL!!! Too funny!

LOL! Even the crab on the shores of Boracay knows of our love. 🙂

I have to admit, there wasn’t anything AMAZING that I had to bring home with me from Boracay. OH!!! I did discover that full body massages along the beach and (if you preferred, in private air-conditioned lofts) worked out to $10 CAD for an hour!!! Naturally, I had one every day I was there!!! Paradise just got better!

All that returned to the T-dot with me was a bottle of Red Horse Beer that I couldn’t finish the eve of our departure and these chocolate covered mangos I picked up at the airport. Both are delicious!

So there you have it friends. Hope you enjoyed reliving destination 1 of 3 in my 22-day Asian Adventure with me. Stay tuned for the next instalment. xo

Thinking about travelling to Asia yourself?

In case you’ve missed any… PPMeow’s Asian Adventure includes:

Asia: What to Know Before you Go – click here for blogpost
Clothes vs. Backpack – click here for blogpost
30+ hours of Travel – click here for blogpost
22 Days, 3 Countries – click here for blogpost
- Boracay, Philippines – White Sand Beach – click here for blogpost
- Hội An, Vietnam – VLX (coming soon)
- Hội An, Vietnam – The Ancient City (coming soon)
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Food, Fun and Fashion (coming soon)

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In an effort to keep my 2015 promise to myself to Shop Less, and Travel More … I’ve taken the bulk of March off work to explore South-East Asia.

In my last post, I reviewed the 5 essential things to know before you go ….the importance of planning BEFORE a big trip. I’m happy to report that I’ve been able to book all my flights, determine a budget for the overall trip, topped up my travel insurance, and have made an appointment for all necessary vaccinations with a travel clinic for early next week (giving me plenty of time to begin any early doses of meds, if required). I’m feeling pretty accomplished friends. 🙂

Now, the big question remains … WHERE the heck am I going?

The Huffington Post recently put out an article entitled: The Top 50 Cities To See In Your Lifetime. I’m sad to report that I’ve only been to 8 out of these 50 cities so far. Buuuuuut…come March 2015, I’ll be able to check off #26 from this list!

DESTINATION #1: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

This is the capital and most populous city in Malaysia. The main religion there is Islam, with significant Buddhist, Hindu and Christian minorities. With tropical super-summer-heat weather from March through to July. I’ve gotta keep both of these elements in mind when coming up with outfit choices.

Sadly, there won’t be any major festivals being celebrated while I’m there. This is the first destination of this trip as I’m meeting a gf of mine who currently lives there. Once I’ve recovered from the 29-hour flight there (yup…29-hours of solo travel – two stopovers – ew! That’s what you get when you book big travel on points friends.) After taking a few days to adjust to the time difference, she and I will head off together to ………….

DESTINATION #2: Boracay, Philippines

This is a small and most famous island in the Philippines – known for its beautiful beaches, and pricey resorts, with a major party scene. Woot! Woot! We’ve decided to book a more modest hotel for the bulk of our stay here, but do a two-day splurge-o at a fancy spot before we depart.

Thinking I might even don my very first bikini on this beach …let’s see if my online order arrives on time…and if my body confidence is at an all time high by then. The main religion here is Roman Catholic, so I’ll fit right in – catholic guilt and all 😉

DESTINATION #3: Hội An, Vietnam

Our last trip will be to this historic Old City in Vietnam, with a unique mix of Japanese, Vietnamese, and European influences. Turns out, there’s a community of swing dancers out here and they are hosting a dancing weekend while I’m there!!!

VLX – Vietnam Lindy Exchange, is a fun weekend of Swing dance exchange hosted by Saigon Swing Cats annually since 2009 in different towns in Vietnam. (Mui Ne, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Saigon).

1653406_10155087428325553_2362633757546518728_n — 2015 VLX – Swing Dancers Nationality

Apparently for the first time in the history of the VLX, this year, the Vietnamese represent less than 10% of the dancers. We have signed ourselves up for the full weekend – which means we don’t have to do much research for hotels – yay! I’m also determined to find a fab tailor to make me some custom threads too while we’re in Vietnam, I just hope there’s enough time.

There you have it folks – high level overview of where and what I’m planning on doing in South-East Asia. Weeeeeee! Writing this post has been super helpful – It’s really REAL now and I’m getting excited.

Full Disclosure: I’m freaking out!!!

This will be the first time I’m flying completely solo — I’m a nervous flyer in general, and these multiple connections I’ve gotta do alone is making me very anxious. Plus, don’t the airplanes of Malaysia have a recent history of disappearing all together!?!?!? 😮

Packing right is going to be incredibly important. With all my many flights and connections, I’ve decided NOT to check any luggage. Which means, I’ve gotta come up with 22 days worth of outfits that are cultural respectful, yet summertime comfortable that fits into 1 piece of carry-on only … yikes!

That’s gonna be challenging. Stay tuned for my next post where I’ll cover just that friends. Dun dun dunnnnnnn…

What are the MUST pack vs. Nice-to-pack items that YOU’D recommend I take along with me for this upcoming adventure friends? Would love your packing tips and thoughts and tricks — leave them in the comments below.

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